About This Project
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Topic Summary
In a forgotten chapter of American Civil Rights history, four young girls ignited a revolution that would reshape education in New Orleans and the Deep South. The New Orleans Four - Gail Etienne, Tessie Prevost, Ruby Bridges, and Leona Tate - made history as they walked into previously segregated schools under U.S. Marshal protection, breaking down barriers that had long divided their city.
These courageous children, alongside the dedicated Freedom Fighters of the New Orleans & Louisiana Resistance Movement, stood firm against hatred with remarkable dignity. Through strategic peaceful protests and lunch counter sit-ins, they defied oppressive Jim Crow laws.
The New Orleans Legacy Project docu series now preserves these crucial moments through oral histories of surviving Civil Rights pioneers and Freedom Fighters. Their firsthand accounts capture what textbooks cannot - the raw emotions, personal sacrifices, and unvarnished truths of a movement that transformed America. New Orleans stands as a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement, and these testimonies paint a vivid portrait of resistance and change. By documenting these stories, we protect the authentic experiences of those who reshaped not just New Orleans and Louisiana, but America's conscience. Their words remind us that even the youngest among us can drive profound social change.
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WATCH THE TEASER
Diedra Meredith
Please Make A Tax Deductible Donation
Please make a tax deductible donation to support our project and the completion of the final phase of the project. We've come a long way and need your support to finish this race. Thanks to a generous corporate gift from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, tax deductible and in kind donations from Friends of The Little Rock Nine, Plessy & Ferguson Foundation, The Historic New Orleans Collection, Fish Pot Studios, The Tollette Family and New Orleans National Park Service, we've been able to get this project to where we are.
New Orleans Legacy Project
Please Sign The Petition
Make New Orleans Four Day
A National Holiday
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November 14th is New Orleans Four Day in New Orleans, Louisiana! On November 14, 2020, on the 60th Anniversary of school desegregation, then City Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen led the City Council of New Orleans to honor the FOUR Civil Rights Pioneers with their own holiday! Mayor LaToya Cantrell also honored them with the long awaited Key To The City!
This year, on their 62nd Anniversary, we launched a nationwide petition on The Color of Change platform. Our goal is to gather 1.4 million signatures in our mission to make November 14th NEW ORLEANS FOUR DAY! nationwide
Once we have collected all the signatures, we will deliver them to Congress and to the President of the United States via a modern day Freedom Ride by bus and by train from New Orleans to Washington D.C.
Director's Notes
THE NEW ORLEANS LEGACY PROJECT
Commemorating the Anniversary of School Desegregation and the New Orleans & Louisiana Resistance Movement
Logline:
Sunni Patterson hosts The New Orleans Legacy Project docuseries to honor and celebrate America's little soldier girls (Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, Tessie Prevost and Ruby Bridges) and the powerful freedom fighters of the New Orleans and Louisiana Resistance Movement who moved before them, with them and beyond.
Synopsis:
In a forgotten chapter of American civil rights history, four young girls sparked a revolution in New Orleans that would forever transform education in the Deep South. The New Orleans Four - Tessie Prevost, Ruby Bridges, Leona Tate, and Gail Etienne - walked bravely into history, protected by U.S. Marshals as they shattered the walls of segregation in New Orleans public schools. While Ruby Bridges' story has captured national attention, the courage of her fellow Civil Rights Pioneers has remained in the shadows of history. These brave girls, alongside the fearless Freedom Fighters of the New Orleans & Louisiana Resistance Movement, faced down hatred with unwavering dignity.
Through peaceful protests, from lunch counter sit-ins to strategic boycotts, they challenged the crushing weight of Jim Crow laws. The New Orleans Legacy Project docuseries finally illuminates this pivotal movement through the voices of the surviving living legends. Their testimonies paint a vivid portrait of a city that is the cradle for equal, where ordinary people accomplished extraordinary feats. Like their counterparts in Little Rock, these civil rights pioneers didn't just change a city - they helped reshape a nation's conscience, proving that even the youngest among us can bend the arc of history toward justice.
Viewers will come to understand how those four brave girls became the LEGACY of the New Orleans & Louisiana Resistance Movement as they endured countless acts of hatred and violence in the mission to put an end to the separate but equal Jim Crow laws of the land.
They invigorated The Civil Rights Movement and sparked the inspiration for The Children’s Crusade of 1963.
Artistic Approach
New Orleans is uniquely its own.
Through the lens of avant-garde filmmaking, The New Orleans Legacy Project transcends traditional documentary storytelling. This groundbreaking oral history captures the raw, powerful voices of civil rights pioneers and freedom fighters, transforming their testimonies into a visual symphony. Gone are the conventional talking heads – in their place, a bold artistic vision emerges.
Our innovative approach is so New Orleans, weaving together striking cinematography with soul-stirring historical and musical performances. Historic landmarks pulse with new life under dramatic lighting, while contemporary musicians become bridges between past and present. Each frame is carefully crafted to honor these legendary Civil Rights Pioneers and Freedom Fighters' testimonies: shadows dance across weathered buildings, jazz notes float through historic streets, and intimate moments are captured in unexpected ways.
This isn't just documentation – it's ARTISTIC EVOLUTION. By pushing the boundaries of new media storytelling, we're creating an immersive experience that makes history breathe. This film is a visual masterpiece that transforms oral histories into a living, breathing testament to courage, resilience, and the enduring spirit of the New Orleans & Louisiana Resistance Movement.
Describe your image
My mission is to inspire viewers to celebrate the human spirit of our freedom fighters who were once young and full of fire like my generation and younger. I believe it's important to validate the marks our elders and ancestors made for us so we can stay connected to them and finish what they started.
While watching this celebratory docuseries, I want the viewer to feel the power of the movement, the spirit of the people and the inspiration of what it means to have the audacity of hope through the powerful first-hand accounts our Freedom Fighters and Civil Rights Pioneers in their own words.
Creating this project gave me a sense of pride and hope because of how it shows what can happen when people of all racial backgrounds come together to create the CHANGE they want to see. It will also show young people that they have the power, that they have a say and that they have the wherewithal to stand their ground for freedom, equality and justice.
Social Impact & Workforce Development
(Addressing Racial Inequity in Film & Television)
When I created the New Orleans Four Legacy Tribute I committed to being INTENTIONAL in uplifting Black girls and Black women in Civil Rights history. The New Orleans Four played an integral and pivotal role in the fight for our freedom and equal educational opportunities.
I also committed to advancing womxn in the film industry the Co-Director of this project is Elsa Kern and my paid apprentice Brittney Everfield will receive her first Producer credits.
In addition, I committed to hiring a diverse crew and wanted to do my part to address the persistent inequities in the film and television industry by hiring Black off-screen talent on this production behind the camera in key roles. I hired a total of 4 African American young men on the film crew. 3 of them were skilled in camera operations. I hired Wron Kennedy as Jib Operator, Kraig Dixon as Camera Operator and LeVay Ballet as Camera Operator. I also hired 2 apprentices Marshal Meggs as Grip and Sean Williams as Boom Operator. The 2 of them trained and worked on this production and had the rare opportunity to learn one on one from industry veterans. The apprentices were each paid an average of $300 per day. I intend to continue this work as I continue to produce and direct.
My partners in The Color Network (TCN) and I will continue doing this intentional work, using our slate of combined projects & productions to serve our mission to address racial inequity in film, television and multi-media.
a. BTS 60th Anniversary Nola 4 Gallier Hall
b. BTS 60th Anniversary Nola 4 Gallier Hall
g. BTS 60th Anniversary Nola 4 Gallier Hall
a. BTS 60th Anniversary Nola 4 Gallier Hall
THE COLOR NETWORK
Advancing Womxn & Black/POC in Multimedia & Film
The Color Network (TCN) was co-founded by Diedra Meredith, Dr. Tia Smith and Dwan Adams and it was created and designed to provide education and paid hands on training that positions womxn and BIlack/POC for pathways to the many roles in the film and television industry. This industry depends on reliable and qualitative service at every level and every minute of filming is expensive. The network is important because it creates a new vision that puts womxn and Black/POC professionals in front of and behind the camera to finally be in control our narrative in telling our stories, our way. We are giving access to intergenerational storytellers, sustainable growth strategies and agency as we leverage the expertise of our creative disciplines.
Visit www.TheColorNetworkNola.com to subscribe to our mailing list. FULL LAUNCH of our website Coming Soon!
New Research
Black representation in film and TV: The challenges and impact of increasing diversity
In March of 2021, McKinsey & Company firm released an article "Black Representation in Film & TV: The challenges and impact of increasing diversity". According to their research, "the handful of Black creatives who are in prominent off-screen, “above the line” positions (that is, creator, producer, writer, or director) find themselves primarily responsible for providing opportunities for other Black off-screen talent. Unless at least one senior member of a production is Black, Black talent is largely shut out of those critical roles."
I am doing my best from where I stand as the creator, producer and director of this docuseries, but people like me need more support and access to capital. This year, the New Orleans film industry is expected to exceed 1 Billion Dollars. 90% of the off-screen talent are white and are not from New Orleans.
Watch the 1:01 video created by research firm McKinsey & Company
The State of Black representation on and off screen (video)
The Scale of the Problem
Advocacy & Undoing Historical Negation in the Media:
THIS project and tribute is what I call my RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WORK. As a Producer and Director, my goal is to create the CHANGE I want to see and in doing so, the advocate and activist in me is an added intention to producing this docuseries.
As a former 1199 SEIU Contract Captain and Shop Steward/Delegate. I advocated and fought for worker's rights, equity and opportunity for advancement of the Union Members I represented. I've always stood up to SAY something and if I had to..... you can best believe, I would always DO something if I saw things that were not right and not fair.
The New Orleans Legacy Project is the umbrella mission for my advocacy and activism in setting the record straight, telling the FULL and accurate account and what better way to do this, than having the Civil Rights Pioneers tell you first hand accounts in their own words. I was inspired by the work of the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) when they started the work of documenting the New Orleans Resistance Movement Oral History Project. Working with Dr. Lydia Charles I was able to forge a partnership with HNOC to use some of the content for this docuseries.
While many know about the Civil Rights history of Mississippi, Alabama, Memphis, Kansas, Georgia and Oklahoma most don't know much about the Civil Rights history of Louisiana especially the powerful New Orleans Resistance Movement.
One of the most impactful moments of the New Orleans Resistance Movement was the the story about the FOUR 6-year old girls Leona Tate, Ruby Bridges, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost who were escorted by US Marshals wearing yellow armbands to desegregate New Orleans public elementary schools. They were known as the NEW ORLEANS FOUR synonymous to the powerful LITTLE ROCK NINE but somehow over the years by fragmenting and an illegitimately revising this history, the story became mostly about only ONE of the 6-year old little girls. Until now, Ruby Bridges is the only one who has been widely acknowledged, highly honored, had movies and children's books written about her and most believed she is the ONE 6-year-old girl that changed the world.
Well I had to do as John Lewis said.... - "When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just... SAY something! DO something! Get in Trouble! Good Trouble! Necessary trouble!"
When the story became about only ONE of the girls , the namesake of the NEW ORLEANS FOUR was removed from any mention and the focus remained on one individual girl, only mentioning that there were "3 other girls" and barely mentioning the NAACP Attorneys who were the Superheroes of Justice!
For decades, this hasn't been right, it isn't fair and it's not just!.... I hope you will join me in telling the FULL story and also refer to them as THE NEW ORLEANS FOUR and help me in completing this important work.
Raising Awareness
With this project, I decided that I had to create a way to raise awareness to address the illegitimate revisions by telling the FULL HISTORY about the New Orleans Resistance Movement and how the NEW ORLEANS FOUR became the LEGACY of the movement!
With A Little Help From My Friends!
Below is some of the work that I've done to restore the namesake of the NEW ORLEANS FOUR and finally undoing the historical negation to uplift the 3 Civil Rights Pioneers (Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost) who's story remained in the shadows of history for decades.
New Orleans Four Proclamation Day Ceremony
60th Anniversary of New Orleans School Desegregation
Gallier Hall
November 14, 2020
New Orleans Four desegregate 2 elementary schools.
Former District E City Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen, has been very supportive in working closely with me to produce this project. She made it possible for me to produce and film the 60th Anniversary of New Orleans School Desegregation at Gallier Hall on November 14, 2020 by getting the streets closed off, and getting us full access to Gallier Hall to hang the banners of the 4 little 6-year-old girls on the front facade. Mrs. Nguyen has also pledged to continue working with me to do whatever she can do to support me to the completion of the project.
Cyndi Nguyen introduced me to Deidre Johnson Burrel, Senior Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Mrs. Nguyen gave me the highest regard for my work ethic and execution.
WATCH the promo commercial for the LIVE Stream on NOIRE TV
Advocacy Work
My first goal was to get the full and accurate story of the New Orleans Four and the New Orleans Public School Desegregation Crisis included in COMCAST NBC Universal's - Voices of the Civil Rights Movement. This production was a collaborative work between my team and I here in New Orleans at Fish Pot Studios with Executive Producer Lisa Melillo and her team at COMCAST NBCU on the East Coast.
‘New Orleans Four’ Members
Recall Horrific Scenes Of Segregation And Racism
As a part of our collaborative efforts to restore the namesake of the NEW ORLEANS FOUR and raise awareness about the "3 other girls", my friend Lisa Melillo and I finally landed Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost their FIRST national television network interview on the TODAY Show!
Their First Magazine Cover Together
I was able to land the 3 Members of the New Orleans Four a cover story in the historical Boulevard Magazine to shine a spotlight on their ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the Tate, Etienne and Prevost (TEP) Civil Rights Interpretive Center.
I was offered the honor of writing their cover story for Mr. Lawrence, the owner of the publication. The Boulevard Magazine highlights outstanding community leadership, and offers conscious articles on topics ranging from health, to education, to the entertainment scene.
photo credit Peter Forest
2022 CROWN AWARDS Honorees
This year during the ESSENCE Festival Dove Unilever presented the 2022 CROWN Awards. The New Orleans Four received the Living Legends Award.
It felt amazing to see these 3 powerful women finally receive their EQUAL recognition. They received almost 2 minutes of a standing ovation filled with shouts of heart felt THANK YOUs and eyes filled with tears of JOY!. The audience also gave the last living parent of the girls Mrs. Dorothy Prevost a standing ovation and shouts of THANK YOUs and HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes! She celebrated her 91st Birthday that weekend.
The Producers of the CROWN Awards had the Host of the show to acknowledge me in front of the audience with a full verbal thank you and gratitude for my work and activism to raise awareness about the 3 school desegregation Civil Rights Pioneers (Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost) who's integral contribution, bravery and sacrifice has been down played for decades.
WATCH Leona, Gail and Tessie's Acceptance Speech:
Urban League of Louisiana
Annual Gala Honorees
FINALLY! 3 Civil Rights Pioneers Gail Etienne, Tessie Prevost and Leona Tate are starting to receive the EQUAL recognition they've deserved for over 60 years!
On August 6, 2022, The Urban League of Louisiana is the first State-Wide organization to FINALLY honor them as members of the New Orleans Four (Leona Tate, Ruby Bridges, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost). Until recently, the contributions and sacrifice of the "3 other girls" (as they've been referred to) has been downplayed and which casted them into the shadows of history and catapulted only 1 of the girls to iconic status and high honors. Due to the ILLEGITIMATE REVISION OF HISTORY, fragmenting the story and the facts about this integral and pivotal historic record, many had NO IDEA that Leona, Gail and Tessie even existed and still didn't understand that Ruby did nothing different than they did. Now, the FULL HISTORY of the New Orleans School Desegregation Crisis is being recognized and corrected.
"When lying and omission become part of your character, you lose integrity and trust you once had from others. - Theodore" Walter Fedorchak.
With The New Orleans Four Legacy Tribute, I decided to confront the omissions and the downplay of their contributions by shining a bright light on them. I placed considerable attention and focus on the accurate narrative with the aim of correcting the historical record by reinserting their namesake, their likeness and their voices that have been excised. My goal is to continue to inspire and encourage more leaders of organizations like the Urban League of Louisiana to DO THE RIGHT THING.
"A Lie Cannot Live" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Acceptance Speeches: I'm waiting for an official video from the Urban League of Louisiana. In the meantime, here's a recording from cousins cell phone. Bless her heart... :-)
Contact
If you have any questions or would like to support my continued work please send me an email.
(646) 436 - 7928